Blue Cheese vs. Ranch Dressing for Your Buffalo Salad

While the great “ranch vs. blue cheese” debate rages across the US, here in Buffalo, we know there’s only one right answer for chicken wings: blue cheese! But when it comes to salads, Western New Yorkers embrace ranch, too. Ranch has the smallest kick without ingredients that would give most people pause, like blue cheese or anchovies (ingredients in blue cheese dressing and Caesar dressing, respectively). And while there are many salads that blue cheese dressing complements well, there are just as many salads that go wonderfully with ranch.

At Franco’s, we offer a variety of salads and dressing options so you can find the perfect dressing for you. No matter your tastes, you can enjoy a perfectly balanced flavor in a salad that’s customized to fit your likes and dislikes. 

Even if you think you know everything about these dressings, we encourage you to learn more about how we do it here at Franco’s! While we’re most famous for our pizza and wings, we also put a lot of care and love into our salads. We’d love to help you make a more informed decision when you’re ordering a salad from any of our many locations in the Western New York area.

Take a look below to explore the ingredients in each dressing and what salads might pair best with each. 

Which Salads Go with Blue Cheese Dressing? 

Blue cheese is named for the edible cultures or molds in the cheese that tend to make this dressing an acquired taste. Along with the cheese, blue cheese dressing usually has ingredients like vinegar, buttermilk, and sour cream. The result is a zingy taste from the vinegar and cheese that’s balanced by the mild flavors of the buttermilk and sour cream. 

Many Buffalonians insist that blue cheese pairs best with Buffalo chicken, so this dressing would go perfectly with our salads that contain chicken. The buttermilk and sour cream are sure to balance the slight heat of the Buffalo sauce. 

Try out blue cheese with our Buffalo chicken finger salad for a true Buffalo classic! This salad starts with our salad mix lettuce and is topped with medium sauced chicken fingers, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas, black olives, pepperoncini, Bermuda onions, cheddar cheese, and bread stix. 

Which Salads Go with Ranch Dressing? 

Like blue cheese, ranch dressing has ingredients like buttermilk and sour cream, but this dressing’s zing comes from garlic, mustard, and spices rather than blue cheese and vinegar. Ranch tends to have more wide appeal, pleasing people who don’t like the cheese in blue cheese or the anchovies in Caesar salad dressing. 

Ranch may be most popular in the Midwest (according to the New York Times), but Western New Yorkers love it, too! Most restaurants in the area will have ranch as a dressing option on their salad menu, and people order it every day at Franco’s. 

So, what salads pair best with ranch dressing? Of course, Greek dressing goes best with our Greek salad and Caesar dressing goes best with our Caesar salad. But if you’re craving ranch, check out any of our other salads! In particular, ranch dressing complements our tuna salad, chef salad, antipasto salad, and julienne salad. 

What Salad Dressing Would You Choose? 

Here’s a secret: you can order ranch or blue cheese with any salad, if that’s what you want. Our menu is full of small, large, and party-sized salads that can be personalized for you. Whether you hate onions, want us to leave off the black olives, or even want to put ranch dressing on your Buffalo chicken finger salad, you can easily order and customize your salad on our website. 

Ultimately, your salad dressing choice is completely yours. And, at Franco’s, we won’t judge you for your choice. Order your salad today and give our creamy ranch or zingy blue cheese a try. We’re sure you’ll find something that satisfies your appetite!